(jyz % 


emarkable 
z^issionary 
(^Movement 
of  our  own  day 


St.  Columbans 

NEBRASKA 

U.  S.  A. 


J 


■i 

•  ^  -1 
V*  > 


Mis  Eminence  Cavdinal  V an  Mossum, 
Prefect  of  the  Sacred  Congregation  of 
Propaganda,  directs  the  activities  of 
the  Catholic  Missions  throughout  the 


Rome,  Palace  of  Propaganda^  Api’il  14tb.,,1923, 

I  I 


The  Very  Rev,  Edward  J.  McCarthy, 

St.  Columbans,  llebr. 

Very  Reverend  and  dear  Father; 

I  have  received  with  real  pleasure  the  bound 
copy  of  The  Far  East  which  you  were  so^good  to  preseri't  to 
me  some  time  ago,  and  I  am  happy  to  find  in  it  an  occasion 
to  address  you  some  words  of  approval  and  encouragement. 

The  greatest  event  of  the  past  year,  as  it  has 
been  so  well  described  in  the  present  volume,  was  the  opening 
and  dedication  of  your  new  Seminary,  a  fact  of  the  highest 
importance,  not  only  for  your  still  young  and  very  deserving 
Society,  but  also  for  the  history  of  the  Catholic  Church  in 
the  United  States. 

This  Mission  Seminary  will  be  a  memorial  and  a 
light-tower.  It  will  remind  Catholic  parents  of  their  duty 
to  promote  vocations  which  they  may  find  in  the  hearts  of 
their  sons  and  daughters.  Catholic  parents  should  be  proud 
to  have  one  or  more  missionaries  among  their  children. 

This  Seminary  will  also  remind  Catholics  that 
material  means  are  required  for  the  development  and  mainten¬ 
ance  of  mission  work.  And  so,  as  I  have  said,  the  dedication 
of  this  Seminary  is  of  the  highest  importance  for  the  Church 
in  the  United  States  because  a  more  fully  Catholic  activity 
in  favor  of  the  missions  will  cause  a  higher  and  more  fruitful 
spiritual  life  among  Catholics. 

As  a  sign  of  my  gratitude  I  pray  most  fervently 
that  Jesus  through'  the  intercession  of  Our  Lady  may  bless  all 
those  who  contributed  in  any  way  to  this  great  work  and  I 
bless  v;ith  all  my  heart  you  and  your  co-operators,  the  staff 
of  your  Seminary  and  all  your  pupils. 


Yours  faithfully  in  Christ, 


pagan  Tvorld. 


:  'vine 


ST.  COLUMBANS  IN  1918 


The  First  Home  of  the  Society  at  Omaha,  Nebraska,  1918-1922 


T.  COLUMBANS  is  the  American  headquarters  of  the  Chi¬ 
nese  Mission  Society  of  St.  Columban,  an  international  Cath¬ 
olic  missionary  organization,  established  to  supply  priests, 
sisters,  and  brothers  to  th^CatholioALssions  of  Chiria.,  The 
need  for  such  a  Society  and  the  vastness  of  its  scope  will  be  readily  seen 
when  we  remember  that  China  with  its  four  hundred  million  people  has 
within  its  borders  almost  one-fourth  of  the  population  of  the  earth,  or 
approximately  four  times  the  population  of  the  United  States. 


To  accomplish  its  purpose  St.  Columbans  maintains  seminaries  for 
the  education  of  priests  exclusively  for  China.  It  supports  these  priests 
and  assists  them  in  their  various  fields  of  work.  It  maintains  parishes, 
churches,  and  schools  throughout  the  territory  committed  to  its  care. 
It  employs  teachers  and  catechists,  and  promotes  Christian  education 
among  old  and  young.  It  founds  and  equips  dispensaries,  and  other 
charitable  institutions  for  the  poor  and  suffering,  and  by  such  means 
extends  the  Catholic  Church  and  its  influence  for  good. 


Above — St.  Columban  s  Seminary 
St.  Columbans,  NebrasJ^a 


Below — St.  Columban  s  Preparatory  College 
Silver  CreeJ^,  New  York 


f 

I 


j 


The  Society  of  St.  Cohiniban  was  founded  in  1918,  and  sent  its 

t/  j 

first  mission  band  of  seventeen  priests  to  China  two  years  later.  With¬ 
in  the  first  five  years  of  its  existence  it  nnmbered  over  two  Inindred 
and  fifty  members,  including  priests,  sisters,  brothers,  medical  doctors 
and  students.  In  addition,  it  normally  employs  some  two  hundred 
native  auxiliaries — catechists  and  teachers — to  help  cai*ry  on  its  work 
in  China,  it  has  opened  over  two  hnndred  churches  in  its  mission 
field,  and  supports  as  many  parochial  schools. 

The  Society  of  St.  Colnmban  takes  its  name  from  the  illnstrions 
Irish  Missionary,  who  evangelized  eastern  France,  the  npper  Ehine- 
land,  Switzerland,  and  iiorthern  Italy  in  the  opening  years  of  the 
seventh  century,  aiid  whom  Pope  Pins  XI  speaks  of  as  ^‘a  saint  who 
from  ont  the  halo  of  his  heaveidy  glory  shed  such  light  upon  history 
that  it  still  illumines  the  world.” 


■V 

■  j 


Rt.  Rev.  Monsignor  Calvin, 
to  whom  Si.  Columbans 
owes  its  first  inspiration. 


T.  COLUMJ>ANS  owes 
its  origin  to  the  Right 
Reverend  M  o  n  s  i  g  n  o  r 
Edward  J.  Galvin, 
present  Prefect  Apostolic  of  St. 
Colnmbans’  Missions  at  Hanyang, 
China.  F’atlier  Galvin  was  a  yonng 
priest  in  the  Diocese  of  Rrooklyn, 
New  York,  when  he  first  received 
the  inspiration  to  devote  his  life 
to  the  missions  of  China.  In  the 
spring  of  1912  lie  departed  for  his 
new  mission  field,  and  worked  in 
the  province  of  Chekiang  nntil  the 
earl^^  years  of  the  Avar. 


AVhen  tho  Erench  missionaries  in  China  Avei'e  drafted  for  military 
service.  Father  Galvin  saAV  the  urgent  need  of  making  an  appeal, 
throughout  the  English-speaking  Avorld,  for  priests  to  take  care  of 
the  abandoned  missions.  Consequently  he  returned  to  the  United 
States  in  1916  and  from  there  to  Ids  natiA^e  Ireland,  Avhere  he  Avas  im¬ 
mediately  joined  by  five  yonng  priests  from  Alaynooth.  The  project 
Avhicli  they  outlined  for  the  foundation  for  a  neAV  missionary  organi¬ 
zation  Avas  api)i‘oved  liy  the  Holy  See  Avithin  a  feAV  months,  and  re¬ 
ceived  ready  sympathy  and  encouragement  not  only  from  the  Pishops 
of  Ireland  but  of  America  and  Australia  as  Avell. 


Within  a  year  the  ncAv  moA^ement  had  receiA^ed  such  an  inqietus  that 
its  success  Avas  assured,  and  Father  Galvin  returned  to  America,  Avhere 
he  had  received  his  first  inspiration.  This  Avas  in  November  1917. 
The  folloAving  year,  at  the  invitation  of  Archbishop  Ilarty,  he  estab¬ 
lished  his  headquarters  at  Omaha,  and  published  the  first  American 
edition  of  the  FAR  EAST,  the  official  organ  of  St.  Colnmbans.  From 
the  outset,  his  efforts  Avere  blessed  Avith  success ;  his  little  office  at 
Omaha  became  a  busy  place;  the  circulation  of  the  Magazine  began 
to  groAv;  and  before  the  end  of  the  year  the  Society  Avas  canonicalh^ 
established  in  the  Diocese  of  Omaha,  on  December  14,  1918. 


[Page  4iV 


The  first  Priests  of  the 
Society  of  St.  Columhan 
in  1917.  Today  the  Society 
numbers  over  1 00  priests. 


The  task  that  lay  before  the 
newly  established  Society  was 
by  no  means  an  easy  one. 
American  Catholics  were  to  a 
great  extent  unprepared  for  the 
message  of  foreign  missions,  for 
America  was  then,  and  is  even 
now,  in  many  respects  itself  a 
missionary  country.  At  the  end 
of  the  last  century  there  was 
scarcely  a  diocese  in  the  United 
States  that  did  not  look  to  Eu- 
rope,  particularly  to  Ireland 
and  Germany,  to  supply  it  with 
priests;  and  where  there  were 
priests  enough,  pastors  and  peo¬ 
ple  were  either  building  churches  and  schools,  or  paying  off  their  in¬ 
debtedness  on  their  newly-formed  parishes. 

In  such  circumstances  one  can  scarcely  wonder  that  people  showed 
little  interest  in  the  foreign  missions  at  the  time  St.  Columbans  was 
founded;  and  yet,  as  after  events  showed,  it  was  necessary  merely  to 
bring  the  knowledge  of  the  missions  to  the  Catholics  of  the  United 
States  in  order  to  inspire  their  ready  generosity  and  enthusiasm,  so 
that  where,  in  1918,  there  were  only  a  few  struggling  missionary 
societies,  today  there  are,  at  least,  tw^elve  organizations  sending  mis¬ 
sionaries  from  America  to  the  mission  fields  of  Asia,  Africa,  and  the 
South  Seas;  and  many  of  these  institutions  are  being  supported  by  the 
generosity  of  American  Catholics. 

Best  of  all,  the  young  people  have  caught  the  enthusiasm,  and  under 
the  banner  of  the  Students’  Mission  Crusade  there  are  enrolled  over 
lialf  a  million  boys  and  girls  imbued  with  the  mission  spirit,  and  zeal¬ 
ously  working  to  advance  the  cause  by  prayer  and  sacrifice.  What 
may  we  not  hope  for  a  future  in  the  hands  of  these,  the  men  and 
women  of  tomorrow?  In  such  an  atmosphere  as  this,  St.  Columbans 
has  been  growing,  and,  with  God’s  help,  doing  its  part  to  develop. 
That  there  were  difficulties,  we  may  take  for  granted,  and  thank  God 
for  them  for  they  are  the  hall-mark  of  His  approval. 


The  Society  of  St.  Columban  today  has  two  seminaries  in  the  United 
States,  one  the  senior  seminary,  at  St.  Columbans,  in  the  Diocese  of 
Omaha,  founded  in  1922 ;  and  the  other  a  Preparatory  College,  at 
Silver  Creek,  New  York,  in  the  Diocese  of  Buffalo,  founded  in  1924. 

St.  Columban ’s  College  at  Silver  Creek  is  situated  on  the  shores  of 
Lake  Erie.  With  its  vast  blue  expanse  of  water  stretching  away  into 
the  distance,  it  affords  a  scenic  environment  in  which  a  boy’s  soul 
may  expand  and  come  nearer  to  his  Creator.  In  the  winter  when  the 
lake  is  frozen  for  two  or  three  miles  from  the  shore,  our  boys  can 
glide  over  its  smooth  surface,  and  in  the  warm  summer  days  the  mile 
or  so  of  soft  sand  beach  on  the  college  grounds  and  the  clear,  cool 
water  offer  an  irresistible  invitation.  Buffalo,  only  thirty  miles  away, 
is  a  city  of  six  hundred  thousand  people,  the  eastern  harbor  of  the 
Great  Lakes  and  a  commercial  distributing  center  for  Western  New 
York.  Dunkirk,  a  town  of  forty  thousand  inhabitants,  and  the  center 
of  four  railroad  systems,  is  only  a  few  miles  from  the  college,  bring¬ 
ing  it  within  easy  reach  of  all  the  large  cities  east  of  Chicago. 

The  country  around  Western  New  York  and  Canada  across  the 
waters  of  Lake  Erie,  has  an  inspiring  missionary  tradition,  for  it  is 
sacred  to  the  memory  of  men  like  Jogues,  Brebeuf  and  Lalement, 
the  martyred  apostles  of  North  America.  Can  we  doubt  that  those 
who  are  trained  in  such  surroundings  and  reminded  of  such  a  tra¬ 
dition  will  imbibe  something  of 
its  inspiration,  and  oik'  day  carry 
even  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  the 
same  faith  which  these  heroes 
sealed  with  their  blood  on  Ameri¬ 
can  soil? 

From  our  Prex^aratory  College  at 
Silver  Creek  our  students  pass  on 
for  their  higher  studies  to  St.  Co¬ 
lumbans,  Nebraska,  in  the  heart  of 
the  Middle  West.  St.  Columbans, 
like  Silver  Creek,  has  the  advan¬ 
tage  of  being  near  a  large  city. 

Omaha,  which  is  only  eight  miles 
away,  and  within  easy  reach  by  a 
high  speed  electric  car,  is  a  city  of 
two  hundred  and  thirty-five  thou¬ 
sand.  The  seminary  itself, — a  new 


[Pa tin-  Seven] 


ST.  COLUMBANS 


'Theological  Students 
atDalgan  Parhjrelandi 


^^^eUni 


of  St  Col 


Col  u  fn  bfi  H  M  L 


Students  and  Staff 
at  St.  ColmnbansfNebr. 


Jirst  Students  and  Postulants 
Trom  JJastralia 


ST.  COLUMBANS 


ajorces 

mbans 


Students  and  Staff 
at  Silver  CreehjT^Y. 


yhilosophy  Students 
\at  St.  Senans,  Ireland 


navies  in  China 


Ohe  ^Missionary  Sisters 
of  St.  Columban 


ST.  COLUMBANS 


building  built  in  1922, — stands  on  a  sightly  hill  overlooking  the  Mis¬ 
souri.  St.  Columbans’  central  position  near  a  large  railroad  center,  as 
Omaha  is,  makes  it  an  ideal  business  and  administrative  headquarters. 

Like  Silver  Creek,  too,  St.  Columbans  is  situated  in  the  midst  of  a 
country  rich  in  missionary  traditions.  Out  over  the  plains  that  sweep 
away  to  the  west  is  the  spot  where,  four  centuries  ago,  one  of  the  first 
missionaries  of  the  west  gave  his  life  for  the  faith.  Across  the  river 
is  the  site  of  Father  De  Smet’s  old  mission;  and  here  on  these  hills, 
perhaps  this  very  hill  on  which  St.  Columbans  stands,  he  preached  and 
baptized  and  held  council  with  the  Indians.  Stretching  for  twenty 
miles  southward  is  a  splendid  panorama  through  which  the  Missouri 
winds,  whose  muddy  waters  bore  these  heroic  missionary  pioneers, 
who  laid  the  foundations  of  Catholicity  in  the  Middle  West. 

St.  Columbans  is  only  in  its  infancy,  but  who  can  set  limits  to  the 
designs  that  God  may  have  in  store  for  it  ?  The  mission  spirit  is  rapid¬ 
ly  taking  hold  of  the  Church  in  America ;  and  day  by  day  we  see  signs 
of  a  greater  future  and  greater  opportunities,  even  though  they  may 
come  through  difficulties.  It  would  be  strange  indeed  if  God  did  not 
use  tliis  new  nation  with  its  twenty  million  Catholic  people,  full  of  a 
deep,  fervent  faith,  as  He  used  the  nations  of  the  old  world  to  spread 
His  Gospel  among  men.  The  future,  indeed,  is  full  of  hope  for  this 
latest  recruiting  ground  for  the  forces  which  the  Lord  needs  to  carry 
the  message  of  His  love  to  human  hearts. 


ST.  COLUMBANS 


Glimpses  of  Student  Life 
at  St.  Columbans 


I 


ST.  COLUMBANS 


St.  Columban  s  Mission  is  an  International  Missionary  Organization 

The  dark  coloi’ed  portions  of  this  map  show  the  countries  where  the  Columban  Missionaries  are  beinj?  trained  and  equipped  for  Chinese  Missions. 


liiver  at  Ha nKow -Hrro w Shows £oc a t ip n 
of  St.  CotumbansHeadquarters  in  China 


^llE  ‘‘Chicago  of  China’’  is  the  name  sometimes  given  by 
Americans  to  the  group  of  cities  where  the  Ilan  and 
^  JL  Yangtse  meet — Hankow,  Hanyang  and  Wuchang.  Their 
size,  central  i)osition  and  commercial  importance  certainly 
puts  one  in  mind  of  Chicago,  hut  in  their  relations  to  one  another  they 
remind  one  rather  of  New  York,  Brooklyn  and  Jersey  City,  separated 
as  tliey  are  by  the  great  rivers  from  which  two  of  them  derive  their 
names.  In  one  of  tliese  cities,  namely  Hanyang,  six  hundred  miles  into 
the  heart  of  China,  St.  Columbans  has  its  missionary  headquarters. 


These  cities  form  the  chief  industrial  and  commercial  center  of 
China.  The  Yangtse,  on  which  they  are  situated,  is  navigable  to  ocean 
going  boats  as  far  as  Hankow,  wliich  thus  becomes  the  largest  river 
port  in  the  world.  By  means  of  the  huge  waterways  that  meet  here 
and  tlieir  subsidiarv  network  of  canals,  these  cities  have  become  an 
emporium  for  the  Avealth  of  distant  provinces.  They  are  also  con¬ 
nected  by  railroads  Avith  Pekin,  the  capital,  in  the  north,  and  Canton 
and  Hongkong  in  the  south. 

The  priests  of  our  first  mission  band,  headed  by  Monsignor  Galvin, 
landed  in  China  in  1920.  For  the  first  feAV  months  they  rented  some 
houses  from  the  Hanyang  Iron  Works.  Later  on  they  bought  a 
Protestant  mission  hosjAital  AAdiich  had  gone  info  bankruptcy.  This 


ST.  COLUMBANS  IN  CHINA 


Christian  Brothers 
who  are  assisting  the 
Columhan  Fathers 
in  their  work^ 


building  li  a  s  since 
become  the  mission 
headquarters;  and 
the  first  home  of  the 
Society  in  China  now 
serves  as  a  college 
for  boys,  under  the 
direction  of  the 
Christian  Brothers. 


The  central  loca¬ 
tion  of  the  Columhan 
mission  field,  its 
teeming  population, 
and  the  facilities  for 
communication  make 
it  an  important  cen¬ 
ter  for  the  diffusion 
of  Catholic  education 
and  the  institutions  established  by  our  missionaries  at  Hanyang  have 
already  attracted  students  from  distant  provinces. 


The  Prefecture  Apostolic  of  Hanyang  runs  along  the  valley  of  the 
Han  in  a  northwesterly  direction  from  Hanyang.  It  has  a  total  popu¬ 
lation  of  five  million  souls,  of  whom  not  more  than  twenty  thousand 
are  Catholics. 


Conversions  during  recent  years  have  averaged  approximately  two 
thousand  souls  a  year  and  there  are  at  present  over  ten  thousand 
catechumens  being  prepared  for  Baptism.  On  account  of  the  ignor¬ 
ance  of  these  poor  people,  in  regard  to  Catholic  teaching,  and  the 
difficulties  of  giving  them  proper  instruction  through  lack  of  priests 
and  funds  to  pay  catechists  and  teachers,  it  usually  takes  a  consider¬ 
able  time  to  prepare  them  properly  for  Baptism,  no  matter  how  well 
disposed  they  may  be. 

The  Prefecture  is  divided  into  a  number  of  large  districts,  over 
each  of  which  there  is  a  resident  priest.  Within  this  district  there 
are  a  number  of  smaller  mission  stations  which  the  priest  visits  per- 


ST.  COLUMBANS  IN  CHINA 

iodically.  These  stations  are  usually  attended  to  by  a  native  catechist 
or  teacher,  who  is  employed  by  the  priest  to  prepare  catechumens  for 
Baptism  and  conduct  schools  for  the  children. 

The  Columban  Fathers  are  assisted  in  their  work  at  Hanyang  by 
the  Irish  Christian  Brothers  and  the  Loretto  Sisters  from  the  United 
States.  The  Brothers  have  charge  of  a  college  for  boys  with  an  aver¬ 
age  roll-call  of  two  hundred  and  fifty.  They  also  superintend  the 
boys’  primary  schools  within  the  city. 

The  Loretto  Sisters  conduct  primary  schools  for  girls  and  have 
charge  also  of  an  embroidery  school  for  Chinese  women. 

The  total  personnel  of  active  workers  in  the  Prefecture  numbers 
226,  including  priests,  brothers,  doctors,  sisters,  lay  auxiliaries,  teach¬ 
ers  and  catechists. 

The  people  among  whom  our  missionaries  labor  are  exceedingly 
poor  and  unable  to  do  anything  themselves  to  support  the  Church. 
They  are  for  the  most  part  living  in  densely  populated  towns,  where 
the  struggle  for  life  is  hard,  or  in  the  country  districts  on  little  farms 
of  not  more  than  an  acre.  They  are  a  good,  simple  people,  kind  and 
courteous,  who  in  spite  of  their  paganism  have  retained  many  of  their 
natural  virtues.  They  are  always  anxious  to  hear  the  Gospel  truths 


nhe  'Jirst  15 a nd  of ^ [pretto 
Sisters  in  Cnina 


ST.  COLUMBANS  IN  CHINA 


4? ,  §,-151 


'7irft "Home  of  theydission  in  China 
How  Christian  Brothers  College 


and  make  splendid  Catholies  once  they  are  converted.  All  that  is 
necessaiy  to  bring  them  into  the  Chnrch  is  a  larger  number  of  priests 
aiul  the  funds  necesary  to  support  them.  Surely  God  wishes  these 
poor  sonls  to  he  saved  for  whom  onr  Divine  Lord  shed  His  precious 
blood  just  as  He  did  for  us. 


